Soon after man began to drive horseless carriages, it became evident that excessive speed endangered not only the vehicle and its occupants but also surrounding persons and property. As it became necessary, speed laws were enacted and are today appliable to all jurisdictions in the country and have been refined to meet differing situations and conditions.
The National Safety Council, a nongovernmental, nonprofit public service organization chartered by Congress periodically publishes information relating to accidents and the prevention thereof. "Accident Facts" is one of these publications and the 1982 Edition thereof indicates that there were 50,800 deaths due to automobile accidents of which 33 percent were attributed to speeding. Likewise, there were 1,900,000 disabling injuries during the period and 20 percent of these involved excessive speed.
In addition to the above, 72 percent of all accidents involving persons in the 15 to 24 age group are caused by motor vehicles. Thus parents and older vehicle owners have a genuine interest and concern when drivers in this age group are behind the wheel.
Another interesting fact is that 82 percent of the fatal accidents and 70 percent of the injury accidents were under dry road conditions which effectively eliminates weather as a contributing factor.
The above-described accidents cost the American public 40.6 billion dollars or 46 percent of the cost of all accidents throughout the United States during the year.